The world's largest Internet retailer had been expected to record revenue of $16.1 billion in the typically slower first quarter, according to average forecasts on Wall Street.Amazon shares rose 1.6 percent to $279 in after-hours trading following the results.

Amazon, which has been on a spending spree in recent years, posted a 37 percent drop in net income to $82 million, or 18 cents a share, compared to $130 million, or 28 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter.

Operating income was $181 million, down 6 percent from the same period last year, Amazon said.

Amazon forecast second-quarter revenue of $14.5 billion to $16.2 billion and operating results from break-even to $350 million. The latter guidance excludes stock-based compensation expenses and other items such as amortization of intangible assets.

Wall Street was looking for second-quarter revenue of $15.94 billion and operating results of $452 million, according to Mark Mahaney, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

The company's profit has shrunk in recent years as it invests for longer-term growth, building distribution warehouses across the country, developing a Kindle Fire tablet and a digital content business in competition with Apple Inc, and expanding into cloud services.